20 C.F.R. Subpart F—Federal Handling of Noncriminal Complaints and Other Allegations
Title 20 - Employees' Benefits
(a) This subpart establishes the procedures which apply to the filing, handling, and reviewing of complaints at the Federal level. Nothing in the Act or this chapter shall be construed to allow any person or organization to join or sue the Secretary with respect to the Secretary's responsibilities under JTPA except after exhausting the remedies in subpart E of this part and this subpart F. (b) Complaints of discrimination pursuant to section 167(a) of the Act shall be handled under 29 CFR part 34. (a) The types of complaints and allegations that may be received at the Federal level for review include: (1) Complaints for which the recipient has failed to issue a timely decision as required by §627.503 of this part; (2) Alleged violations of the Act and/or the regulations promulgated thereunder resulting from Federal, State, and/or SDA and SSG monitoring and oversight reviews; (3) Alleged violations of the labor standards provisions at section 143 of the Act; (4) Alleged violations of the relocation provisions in section 141(c) of the Act; and (5) Other allegations of violations of the Act or the regulations promulgated thereunder. (b) Upon receipt of a complaint or allegation alleging any of the violations listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary may: (1) Direct the recipient to handle a complaint through local grievance procedures established under §627.502 of this part; or (2) Investigate and determine whether the recipient or subrecipient(s) are in compliance with the Act and regulations promulgated thereunder (section 163(b) and (c)). (3) Allegations of violations of sections 141(c) or 143 of the Act and §627.503 of this part shall be handled under paragraph (b)(2) of this section. (a)(1) As a result of an investigation or monitoring by the Department, or of the actions specified in paragraph (b)(2) of §627.601 of this part, the Grant Officer shall notify the recipient of the findings of the investigation and shall give the recipient a period of time, not to exceed 60 days, depending on the nature of the findings, to comment and to take appropriate corrective actions. (2) The Grant Officer shall review the complete file of the investigation and the recipient's actions. The Grant Officer's review shall take into account the sanction provisions of subpart G of this part. If the Grant Officer agrees with the recipient's handling of the situation, the Grant Officer shall so notify the recipient. This notification shall constitute final agency action. (3) If the Grant Officer disagrees with the recipient's handling of the matter, the Grant Officer shall proceed pursuant to §627.606 of this part, Grant officer resolution. (a) A complaint alleging JTPA section 143 violations may be submitted to the Secretary by either party to the complaint when: (1) The complainant has exhausted the grievance procedures set forth at subpart E of this part, or (2) The 60-day time period specified for reaching a decision under a procedure set forth at subpart E of this part has elapsed without a decision (section 144(a) and (d)(1)). (b)(1) The Secretary shall investigate the allegations contained in a complaint alleging violations of JTPA section 143, make a determination whether a violation has occurred, and issue a decision within 120 days of receipt by the Secretary of the complaint (section 144(c) and (d)). (2) If the results of the Secretary's investigation indicate that a decision by a recipient under a procedure set forth at subpart E of this part requires modification or reversal, or that the 60-day time period for decision under section 144(a) has elapsed, the Secretary shall modify, reverse, or issue such decision. (3) If the Secretary modifies or reverses a decision made under a procedure set forth at subpart E of this part, or issues a decision where the 60-day time period has elapsed without a decision, the Secretary shall offer an opportunity for a hearing, in accordance with the procedures under section 166 of the Act and subpart H of this part (sections 144(d)(2) and 166(a)). (4) If the Secretary upholds a recipient's decision, the determination is the final decision of the Secretary (section 144(d)(3)). This decision is not appealable to the Office of Administrative Law Judges. (c) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, remedies available under this section to a grievant for violations of section 143 of the Act shall be limited to: (1) Suspension or termination of payments under the Act; (2) Prohibition of placement of a participant, for an appropriate period of time, in a program under the Act with an employer that has violated section 143 of the Act, as determined under section 144(d) or (e) of the Act; and/or (3) Appropriate equitable relief (other than back pay) (section 144(f)(1)). (d) Available remedies for violations of section 143(a)(4), (b)(1), (b)(3), and (d) of the Act include the remedies listed in paragraph (c) of this section, and may include the following: (1) Reinstatement of the grievant to the position held prior to displacement; (2) Payment of lost wages and benefits; and/or (3) Reestablishment of other relevant terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a grievant from pursuing a remedy authorized under another Federal, State, or local law for a violation of section 143 of the Act (section 144(g)). (a) A person alleging a violation of section 143 of the Act, as an alternative to processing the grievance under a procedure described at section 144 of the Act, may submit the grievance to a binding arbitration procedure, if a collective bargaining agreement covering the parties to the grievance so provides (section 144(e)(1)). (b) A person electing to have her/his complaint on JTPA section 143 labor standard violations processed under binding arbitration provisions— (1) Shall choose binding arbitration before, and in lieu of, initiating a complaint under other grievance procedures established pursuant to section 144 of the Act, and (2) May not elect binding arbitration for a complaint that previously has been or is subject to any other grievance procedure established under the Act. (c) Binding arbitration decisions under the provisions of section 144(e) of the Act are not reviewable by the Secretary. (d) The remedies available to a grievant under binding arbitration are limited to those set forth at section 144(f)(1)(C) and (f)(2) of the Act (section 144(e)(2)). (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a grievant from pursuing a remedy authorized under another Federal, State, or local law for a violation of section 143 of the Act (section 144(g)). (a) Should the recipient fail to provide a decision as required in §627.503 of this part, the complainant may then request from the Secretary a determination whether reasonable cause exists to believe that the Act or regulations promulgated thereunder have been violated. (b) The Secretary shall act within 90 days of receipt of a request made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section. Where there is reasonable cause to believe the Act or regulations promulgated thereunder have been violated, the Secretary shall direct the recipient to issue a decision adjudicating the dispute pursuant to recipient and local procedures. The Secretary's action does not constitute final agency action and is not appealable under the Act (sections 166(a) and 144(c)). If the recipient does not comply with the Secretary's order within 60 days, the Secretary may impose a sanction upon the recipient for failing to issue a decision. (c) A request pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section shall be filed no later than 15 days from the date on which the complainant should have received a decision as required in §627.503 of this part. The complaint shall contain the following: (1) The full name, telephone number (if any), and address (if any) of the person making the complaint; (2) The full name and address of the respondent against whom the complaint is made; (3) A clear and concise statement of the facts, including pertinent dates, constituting the alleged violation; (4) The provisions of the Act, regulations promulgated thereunder, grant, or other agreement under the Act believed to have been violated; (5) A statement disclosing whether proceedings involving the subject of the request have been commenced or concluded before any Federal, State, or local authority, and, if so, the date of such commencement or conclusion, the name and address of the authority, and the style of the case; and (6) A statement of the date the complaint was filed with the recipient, the date on which the recipient should have issued decision, and an attestation that no decision was issued. (d)(1) A request pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section will be considered to have been filed when the Secretary receives from the complainant a written statement sufficiently precise to evaluate the complaint and the grievance procedure used by the recipient, the SDA, or the SSG. (2) When an imprecise request is received within the 15-day period prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary may extend the period for submission. (a) When the Grant Officer is dissatisfied with the State's disposition of an audit, as specified in §627.481 of this part, or other resolution of violations (including those arising out of incident reports or compliance reviews), with the recipient's response to findings resulting from investigations pursuant to §627.503 of this part, or if the recipient fails to comply with the Secretary's decision pursuant to §627.605(b) of this part, the initial and final determination process shall be used to resolve the matter. (b) Initial determination. The Grant Officer shall make an initial determination on the findings for both those matters where there is agreement and those where there is disagreement with the recipient's resolution, including the allowability of questioned costs or activities. Such initial determination shall be based upon the requirements of the Act, regulations promulgated thereunder, grants, contracts, or other agreements under the Act. (c) Informal resolution. The Grant Officer shall not revoke a recipient's grant in whole or in part, nor institute corrective actions or sanctions, without first providing the recipient with an opportunity to present documentation or arguments to resolve informally those matters in controversy contained in the initial determination. The initial determination shall provide for an informal resolution period which shall be at least 60 days from issuance of the initial determination. If the matters are resolved informally, the Grant Officer shall issue a final determination pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section which notifies the parties in writing of the nature of the resolution and may close the file. (d) Grant Officer's final determination. (1) If the matter is not fully resolved informally, the Grant Officer shall provide each party with a written final determination by certified mail, return receipt requested. For audits of recipient-level entities and other recipients which receive JTPA funds directly from DOL, ordinarily the final determination will be issued not later than 180 days from the date that the OIG issues the final approved audit report to the Employment and Training Administration. For audits of subrecipients conducted by the OIG, ordinarily the final determination will be issued not later than 360 days from the date the OIG issues the final approved audit report to ETA. (2) A final determination under this paragraph (d) shall: (i) Indicate that efforts to informally resolve matters contained in the initial determination have been unsuccessful; (ii) List those matters upon which the parties continue to disagree; (iii) List any modifications to the factual findings and conclusions set forth in the initial determination; (iv) Establish a debt, if appropriate; (v) Require corrective action when needed; (vi) Determine liability, method of restitution of funds and sanctions; and (vii) Offer an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with subpart H of this part. (3) Unless a hearing is requested, a final determination under this paragraph (d) constitutes final agency action and is not subject to further review. (e) Nothing in this section shall preclude the Grant Officer from issuing an initial determination and/or final determination directly to a subrecipient, in accordance with section 164(e)(3) of the Act. In such a case, the Grant Officer shall inform the recipient of such action. (a) An allegation, whether arising from a complaint, from monitoring or other information available to the Department, that a Governor failed to promptly take remedial action of a substantial violation of the Act or the regulations under this Act, as required by §627.477 of this part, shall be promptly investigated by the Department. (b) The Grant Officer shall notify the Governor of the findings of the investigation or monitoring and shall give the Governor a period of time, not to exceed 30 days, to comment on the nature of the findings and to take appropriate corrective actions. (c) The Grant Officer shall review the complete file of the investigation, monitoring, and the Governor's actions. (d) If the Grant Officer determines that, (1) as a result financial and compliance audits or otherwise, the Governor determined that there was a substantial violation of a specific provision of the Act or the regulations under this Act, and corrective action had not been taken and, (2) the Grant Officer determines that the Governor has not taken the actions required by §627.477(a), the Grant Officer shall take such actions required by §627.477(a). (e) The Grant Officer's determination, unless a hearing is requested, constitutes final agency action and is not subject to further review. (Section 164(b)(3)).
Title 20: Employees' Benefits
PART 627—GENERAL PROVISIONS GOVERNING PROGRAMS UNDER TITLES I, II, AND III OF THE ACT
Subpart F—Federal Handling of Noncriminal Complaints and Other Allegations
§ 627.600 Scope and purpose.
§ 627.601 Complaints and allegations at the Federal level.
§ 627.602 Resolution of investigative findings.
§ 627.603 Special handling of labor standards violations under section 143 of the Act.
§ 627.604 Alternative procedure for handling labor standards violations under section 143 of the Act—binding arbitration.
§ 627.605 Special Federal review of SDA- and SSG-level complaints without decision.
§ 627.606 Grant Officer resolution.
§ 627.607 Grant Officer resolution of Governor's failure to promptly take action.
